First turns

Early sunday morning 7 AM we found ourselves waiting to get our whack at what would be our first turns of the season. Not only did I turn but I managed to do my fair share of eating it in surprisingly forgiving snow. The snow was deep and we were surprised at just how much snow we found.

If it weren't for Kip I would have been skiing down on one ski as my binding had pulled out of its insert on my left ski! So heres to Kip and many more turns; or who knows I'm sure there will be plenty of eating it as well.

Turn Good.

Leonids

A friend invited us last night to go check out the Leonid meteor shower. I think we averaged 1.5 meteors viewed per person, but the stars were beautiful, the rum was tasty, and the people were great.

This topped off a night of successful skin-cutting (see below post) - What a great night!

Skin Cutting season

Shotski!

So acouple of old tele skiis, four shot glasses and three good friends; Shotski!

Fall at the Cabin

We've had a couple lovely fall nights out at the cordwood cabin. We usually bring some beer and some snacks from the Co-Op and make a night of reading by the fire. On the most recent visit, we had a guitarist with us, so we made a night of singing badly by the fire.

I can't wait to use the cabin as homebase on some ski tours this winter. Maybe even a day of touring over at Millstone?

Last Ride at the Kingdom (2009 season)

We enjoyed our last jaunt out to the Kingdom, for biking season anyways, this past Saturday. We had a great group and did a fun loop. We were all quite tired after a couple hours of riding. Not too tired to do a jump shot, though.

Happy trails!

Gear I'm Trying This Winter

This winter will mark the continuation of practicing my new favorite sport: cross-country / downhill skiing. I started last winter on a Karhu 10th Mountain 175cm ski (I'm 5'5", 135 pounds on a good day), with a basic 3-pin binding and the synthetic/leather Alpina 2075 boot. This year I'm upgrading to the Voile 3-pin hardwire binding and Garmont's light G-Rex telemark boot (the womens' / kids' version of the Excursion). I'm excited to see improved control and manueverability in the trees.

But perhaps more exciting, this winter will mark the start of a new sport attempt for me: telemark skiing. I'm going with the new Scarpa T2 eco, made from plant-based plastic (as opposed to petroleum-based). It's a beautiful boot, and I can't wait to mold that liner to my foot. I'm pairing that with the Black Diamond 01 binding (freeflex, though I may change the binding cartridges throughout the season to learn about the different stiffnesses). And the ski: the Black Diamond Joule 155cm ski (the women's version of the kilowatt). I'll keep you all posted on my successes and lessons learned as the season continues....well, more importantly, as the season starts. Fingers crossed for a snowy winter!

Happy trails,

the backyard adventurer